Bank Launches Loan Program Targeting Green Building Criteria

Community Bank of Arizona uses ENERGY STAR® and EPA green standards as criteria in underwriting commercial loans for an interest-rate discount.

Pilot Program for Green Building Loans Launched

advertisement

Community Bank of Arizona, a wholly owned subsidiary of Community Bancorp announced the first pilot program in the nation to leverage the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star energy performance rating or other green building criteria to provide discounted interest rates for commercial construction, development or remodeling loans of $100,000 or more. Qualified businesses will benefit from a half-point interest rate reduction based upon meeting standards for energy consumption and efficiency, sustainability and/or green architectural design. For the energy-specific criterion, eligible projects must meet at least a 75 rating on the EPA’s Energy Star 1-100 rating scale or earn the “designed for Energy Star” certification.

Energy consumption from the operation of commercial buildings accounts for 18% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. According to the EPA, energy use is also the single largest controllable operating expense for a commercial property. Greater cash flow through energy efficiency increases a building’s value and improves owners’ ability to meet mortgage payments, thus reducing lender risk at the same time as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Chandler Gets First Green Office Building

Momentum Development Company is building the first green high performance Class A office building for lease in Chandler. The 77,000-sq-ft multi-tenant center will be known as the Momentum Technology Center and is anticipated to be LEED gold.

It will be part of Chandler Piazza’s mixed-use development located at the southeast corner of W. Frye Road and S. Ellis Street.

In contrast to traditional construction methodology, Momentum Technology Center features an access flooring system for high-tech flexibility via modular electric, voice and data distribution. This also allows for under-floor air distribution, which includes individual employee adjustable air flow for thermal comfort.

Moveable wall systems are employed to expedite tenant move-in and at the same time, allow for easy future re-configuration at a lower cost. Solar power and water saving devices are also incorporated into the building design. Materials used in constructing the buildings have a high percentage of recycled content.

NAU Opens Green ARD Building

Northern Arizona University opened its Applied Research and Development building, which is being submitted for LEED platinum certification.

NAU president John D. Haeger says all future buildings on the NAU campus will seek a platinum rating despite the challenges of building green at 7,000-ft, including the need for construction supplies that can accommodate northern Arizona’s “freeze and thaw” temperature variations and the intense ultraviolet light that can quickly damage materials.

“Building green is good public policy, and high-performance environmentally responsible buildings have a greater return on investment than traditional buildings,” says Rich Bowen, associate vice president for economic development for NAU.

Energy sources for the 59,821-sq-ft ARD building on the university’s central campus include a photovoltaic solar power system donated by Arizona Public Service that provides at least 20% of its electricity. Automatic shade controls and a “heat exchanger” regulate the building’s temperature.

“The concrete used in the building includes a mixture of 40% fly ash waste from coal burning, minimizing the high-carbon release in manufacturing cement,” Bowen says. “Plus, the ARD parking lot is the first installation in the state to use pervious concrete, allowing water to be captured in natural aquifers to be used for irrigation purposes.”

About 30% of the building’s supplies are from recycled materials, including thousands of pairs of denim jeans used for insulation and 57% of the materials are from local producers or manufacturers. Wood used in the building was certified to be harvested from a renewable forest-management system. 90% of waste materials generated from the building’s construction made its way to recycling rather than landfills.

Reclaimed water replaces potable water for landscaping use and flushing toilets, and water-efficient features such as low-pressure faucets and toilets reduce total water needs by 60%. Compared to traditional buildings, ARD’s environmental features reduce its total energy consumption by 60%.

The building also is designed to contribute to regional and global stewardship through educational programs, innovative research and collaborative relationships.

Occupants include the U.S. Forest Service and NAU’s Center for Sustainable Environments.

Burns Wald-Hopkins Architects designed and Kitchell built the $25 million building. 

Click here for next Feature Story >>